Chapter 581: To Lure Her

Yuan Yao heard that, her eyes brightened slightly, and she smiled in agreement.

"Alright!"

The six senior brothers and sisters then took out the portrait stone and solemnly recorded birthday congratulations for Qianjue Mountain.

Time slipped by silently; three hours later, the snow grew ever fiercer, swirling wildly, and the world was shrouded in a vast gray.

Many Heaven‑prides had lost interest in anything else and chose to return to camp to sit in meditation and cultivate.

But Yuan Yao and Xie Yan walked side by side through the snow toward the edge of the Abyssal Line. In the past two years they had traversed the Boundary Abyss, and its routes and bearings were already as clear to them as the back of their hands.

Yuan Yao stared at the core area opposite, her gaze calm and focused, and without turning her head asked, "Xie Yan, how much longer do you think it will take before we truly step into the core area?"

"Almost there," Xie Yan's voice was gentle, but his eyes fell on the side of her face brushed by wind and snow.

Yuan Yao turned at his voice, met his gaze, her expression stiff, and asked seriously, "You have now successfully broken through to the early Great Perfection Realm; if I gave you another year, are you confident you can advance your cultivation to the middle Great Perfection Realm?"

Xie Yan paused briefly, nodded, and said, "It should be possible."

Receiving the affirmative answer, Yuan Yao's face tightened slightly, but her tone carried a hint of resolve: "If all goes well, a year from now we will slip into the core area and investigate it, how does that sound?"

Xie Yan did not hesitate, "Fine."

He extended his hand, gently clasping Yuan Yao's shoulder; the warmth of his palm seeped through the fabric, and he asked softly, "Is it cold?"

Yuan Yao looked up at him, wind and snow brushing her hair tips, and she curved her lips into a faint smile, "Not too cold."

"Xie Yan, after leaving the Boundary Abyss, what is the one thing you most want to do?"

Xie Yan was silent for a moment, then slowly uttered five words, "Kill Xu Yanzhi."

"Why do you hate Xu Yanzhi so much?" she had wanted to ask for a long time, but never found the right moment.

Xie Yan pursed his lips and said, "Do you still remember that I once accused Xu Yanzhi of killing an innocent woman at the Immortal Gate Grand Competition?"

"I remember," Yuan Yao nodded lightly, "That was..."

"My mother, Ming Peng," Xie Yan's throat moved slightly; he gazed at Yuan Yao and slowly recounted the buried past: "She was a human‑race sword cultivator. By accident she entered the Demon Realm, where the Demon Emperor took notice and forcibly made her a concubine."

"At first my mother only wanted a chance to leave the Demon Realm, but later she fell genuinely in love with the Demon Emperor and bore me. The Demon Emperor adored her immensely, sparing no effort, and disregarding the ministers' opposition, he proclaimed my half‑demon bloodline as Young Prince."

"During those years in the Demon Realm, my mother lived without worries, yet her heart constantly missed her homeland and family."

"Later she finally obtained the Demon Emperor's consent and took me back to the Cultivation Realm to visit relatives. Yet fate turned cruel; on the way we encountered Xu Yanzhi. He sensed the demonic aura on our party and slaughtered us like livestock. Mother, the escort guards… none survived. She used her last breath to urge me to run. I heeded her words, fled desperately through the forest, while Xu Yanzhi pursued me like a shadow, never letting go."

"In the end, he knocked me off a cliff. At the base, a spatial turbulence rift suddenly opened, pulling me in and delivering me to a completely unfamiliar place. Later I learned it was the Land of the Purgatory."

He paused, his voice so low it was almost inaudible: "I was seven then."

"I didn't escape the Land of the Purgatory until I was thirteen, by sheer luck. After that I endured countless hardships and finally found a chance to return to the Demon Realm. Yet what awaited me was the fact that my father‑emperor had been murdered by my elder prince brother, who usurped the throne."

Xie Yan grasped the hand Yuan Yao extended, pressing its palm to his cheek, bringing a hint of warmth.

His tone became calm: "I knew I could no longer stay in the Demon Realm, so I returned to the Cultivation Realm. I originally planned to become stronger, first avenge my mother, then go back to the Demon Realm to kill my elder brother who murdered my father‑emperor."

Yuan Yao listened to his story and felt a heavy weight pressing on her heart, a nameless, suffocating pain.

"Xie Yan, even bitter melon isn't as bitter as you," Yuan Yao's eyes grew watery.

Yuan Yao had never endured any hardship from childhood to now.

She was only two years younger than him.

Xie Yan, however, was amused.

He held Yuan Yao's hand and kissed the back of it.

"Now, I taste sweetness."

Yuan Yao looked up at him, her tone especially serious: "Xie Yan, do you want to become the Demon Emperor in the future?"

"You want me to become the Demon Emperor?"

"I want to."

"Do you like the Demon Realm?"

"Never been there, I don't know."

Xie Yan's eyes deepened slightly, "If we become Dao companions in the future and you don't like the Demon Realm, would you abandon me there?"

Yuan Yao replied helplessly, "I won't abandon you."

She immediately blinked, "Can't you also come to the Cultivation Realm to find me?"

Xie Yan felt a tightness in his chest.

He inhaled deeply and said, "I want to be with you, no matter what we do or where we go."

"No, you must become the Demon Emperor," Yuan Yao stared at him, "If you become the Demon Emperor, I'll feel more at ease."

Xie Yan met her gaze, his reason briefly resurfaced, and he lowered his voice to ask, "Are you hiding something from me?"

Yuan Yao said, "Do you trust my intuition?"

Xie Yan: "I do."

Yuan Yao whispered, "Lately I've felt the Three Realms slipping into chaos; if we wait to go out and resolve these matters, it may be too late. So once we can leave the Boundary Abyss, you must do everything possible to stabilize the Demon Realm. You were once Young Prince, and ascending to the Demon Emperor is entirely rightful."

Xie Yan was silent for a moment, "A Yao, I promise you."

Yuan Yao said, "After we fully resolve these issues, you can choose whether to continue as Demon Emperor."

"Fine." The moment Xie Yan just agreed, Yuan Yao suddenly embraced his slender waist, her voice came.

"Xie Yan, I'll still be there for you in the future."

Xie Yan heard that, his eyelashes twitched, and his heart seemed to be struck hard, trembling until it went numb.

He raised his hand and pulled her back into an embrace.

"The words you said must never be broken. Otherwise..."

"Otherwise what?"

Xie Yan's eyes narrowed slightly; in his heart he answered, "Then I will bind you, and you will be with me every day."

"Why aren't you speaking?" Yuan Yao waited a moment, heard no reply, and asked aloud.

I won't let you go.

His words were clearly harsh, yet his tone felt extremely ambiguous.

Yuan Yao couldn't help laughing.

She let go of his hand, then took his warm hand, saying, "Let's go back to the camp."

"The camp is crowded," Xie Yan said, yet he didn't move; his phoenix eyes were now filled with tenderness as he gazed at her, like a lake of spring water, evoking pity.

Seeing him like that, Yuan Yao felt her ears heat up.

After confirming their relationship, she discovered that Xie Yan appeared cold and aloof on the outside, but was actually a shy, clingy flirt.

Xie Yan often used his handsome looks to seduce her in order to achieve his goals.